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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball since it was coined, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.